Eye-Openers: Fast food strikes; The era of the haute vegetable is upon us

Eye-Openers: Fast food strikes; The era of the haute vegetable is upon us

Shonda Robert of Oakland walks to work for her job at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Photo: The Chronicle/ Lea Suzuki

From the local scene:

Bay Area fast food workers are planning to go on strike today, joining the national movement. According to co-organizer Shonda Roberts of Oakland (pictured above), local fast food workers plan to form a union and press their call for minimum $15-an-hour pay. [San Francisco Chronicle]

Bloomberg critic Ryan Sutton files a must-read piece on how vegetables are conquering America’s top tasting menu restaurants, led by Bay Area restaurants like the Restaurant at Meadowood, Manresa, Saison, Coi and Atelier Crenn. In addition to describing his recent counter meal at Meadowood as “infinitely more enjoyable” than his most recent experience at the French Laundry, Sutton also plants the seeds (ha) for a continued evolution: “If haute cuisine is going to move forward, if we are going to fully develop the new (and old) flavors of the Earth’s flora, chefs will need to take a page from Barber, Kostow and Kinch — and depend far less on its fauna.” [Bloomberg]